Heel compressing and loading apparatus.



c; c. SMALL. HEEL GOMPRESSING AND LOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. II 1902.

Patented May 21,1912.

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(3. G. SMALL.

. HEEL GOMPRESSING AND LOADING APPARATUS.

L APPLIOATION FILED we. 1 1902.

. 1 027,361. Patented Ma y 21, 1912.

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riWL/f mes 4.37 645% COLUMBIA PLANbuRAPl-l 10.. WASHINGTON D c c. c.SMALL. HEEL GOM PRESSING AND LOADING APPARATUS.

PPPPP OATION FILED AUG.1, 1902.

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0. G. SMALL. HEEL GOMPRESSING AND LOADING APPARATUS.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1902.:

Patented May 21, 1912.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHESTER o. SMALL, oENEwToN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIeNoR ro UNITED sHoEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF PA'I'ERSON, NEW JERsEY, AND BOSTON, MASSACHU-sE'rrs, A CoRroRA'rIoN on NEW JERSEY.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Application filed August 1, 1902. SeriaINo. 117,935.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER C. SMALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Heel Compressing andLoading Apparatus, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on thedrawings representing like parts.

The machine which is hereinshown and described as embodying thisinvention is a machine for inserting or loading nails in heel blanks,which blanks are also com pressed by the same machine and aresubsequently attached to the shoe on a heel at taching machine. Itshould be understood, however, that many features of the invention areequally well applicable to heel attaohing machines which are employed tosecure to shoes heels which have not previously been loaded.

In the machine herein shown the nails are assorted to place their headsand points in the same direction as has been the practice heretofore inmachines of this type. Some improvements have been made on thismechanism as is hereafter explained to adapt the mechanism for handlingthe nails which I proposeto use in this machine.

The nails hitherto used on these machines have been tapered nails,larger at their heads than at their points and, with their headssubstantially square. These nails have been chiefly used in what iscalled blind nailing, in which use the nails are left pro-. trudingsomewhat when the heel is attached to the shoe and on which protrudingheads the top lift is afterward spanked. When the nails have been usedfor surface nailing, that is, the class of work in which the nails arevisible on the tread surface of the heel, it has been cheap work inwhich the appearance of the nails on the tread surface of the heel wasnot important. The present machine, however, is particularly intendedfor use in driving English slug nails, or nails whose heads are oblonginstead of being square. These nails are used only in surface nailingand they are intended not only to perform the function of attaching theheel to the shoe but also to serve the purpose of slug nails for theornamentation of the heel nails it becomes necessary not only to assortthe nails as to heads and points, but they must also be turned axiallythat their wide parallel sides may be relatively arranged to enter underlike conditions pockets leading to the nail tubes or conductors, suchaxial turning of the nails enabling all the nails to be driven into theheel or other stock with their parallel sides contiguous. To do this Ihave herein provided means operative after the nails leave the usualassorting mechanism for turning the nails axially or, about theirlongitudinal axes, so that the nails in entering the pockets will besimilarly arranged as to their parallel sides. The nails must also bedirected in their movement between the pockets referred to and the nailblock in such way that they will be restrained from free axial rotation,and to accomplish this I have connected with said pockets nail tubes orconductors having nail passages of a thickness less than the width ofthe nail.

. The mechanisms for assort-ing the nails and turning the same axiallyare herein de scribed that the invention included in the claims may befully understood, but the assortingand turning means have been made thesubject matter of claim in a divisional application Se. No. 193,131,filed on the 11th day of Feb, 1904.

In machines for loading or inserting nails into heels, the heel isusually prioked by awls before the nails are driven therein. The awlscommonly employed for this purpose are tapered at their ends to presenta central point. I find that the hole made by an awl having a centralpoint is not well when forced into a compressed heel is to make a holewhich curves toward the edge of the heel instead of passing straightinto it, because that is the path of least resistance. To overcome thisdifiiculty I have provided my new awls with a bevel from the side whichis nearest the edge of the heel toward the side which is nearest to thecenter of the heel, to form a cutting edge, like that of a carpenterschisel, on that side of the awl which is nearest the center of the heel.I find that this construction of the awl overcomes the tendency of theawl to be diverted toward the edge of the heel.

As is well known, a nail driven into leather tends to force the leatherin contact with the sides of the nail down in the direction in which thenail is being driven, and when the nail is fully driven so that its headis flush with the general surface of the work, the surface of the workimmediately around the nail has become depressed so that a concavity isformed. If the heel is pricked before the nails are inserted the awlstend to de press the material of the walls of the awlholes in the samemanner that the nail does when it is driven. It has been customary inview of this fact to drive the nails into the holes until their headswere somewhat below the general surface of the heel, in order toposition the head of the nail flush with the depressed portion of thework immediately surrounding the nail. In finishing a shoe having thenails driven in this manner, it was necessary to grind down or removethe leather to a level flush with the heads of the nails. This involveda considerable grinding away of the tread of the heel. To overcome thisdifficulty I have provided the templet which rests on the upper surfaceof the heel when the heel is being compressed, with a groove extendingin the line in which the nails are to be inserted. Compressing the heelwith a templet or die thus shaped, forms a rib or ridge on the surfaceof the heel. hen the nails are driven into the heel through the rib, thedepression formed by the driven nail around its head is made in the riband does not extend below the general surface of the heel. It istherefore only necessary to drive the nail in until its head is flushwith the general surface of the work. hen the heel is finished in thebuffing operation it is only necessary to grind away the rib or ridge inorder to make the face of the heel smooth and even.

I believe I am the first to provide means, when compressing a heelblank, to leave projecting from the face of the blank the part of thestock into which the nails are to be driven; and also the first toremove the pro-- jecting stock from the face of the heel after the nailshave been driven into the projecting stock. As will be readily seen,this effects a saving of heel stock and also of time and labor infinishing the heel. It is obvio-us that the advantages of this featureof the invention are realized entirely independently of the thickness orheight of the heel. In other words, as far as this feature is concerned,it is immaterial whether the top lift upon which the projecting portionof the stock is left be, at the time of compression, attached to theremaining lifts of the heel or not. The term heel blank used in theclaims in this connection is employed in its broad sense, meaning eitherthe top lift of the heel alone or attached to the remaining lifts thatgo to form the completed heel.

I have provided the nail block with a novel gate or device to sustainthe nails which are to be driven from the nail block into the heel, andhave provided novel means for actuating this gate. I have also connectedto the underside of the nail block the heel registering or positioningplate against which the end of the heel blank is pressed when the nailsare to be driven. The said registering or positioning plate has at itsunder side a groove to receive the rib, or it may be a row ofprojections, which has been formed on the face of the heel by thetemplet. The registering plate is also provided with stops or gages todetermine the position of the blank. The gate and the registering platebeing carried by the nail block, said nail block and these parts may beremoved together from the usual movable carrier when it is desired toprovide for inserting nails into heels of a different size, or intoheels in which the nails are to be difi'erently arranged.

Figure 1 in side elevation represents my improvements applied in one ofthe best forms now known to me, to a well known form of machine forautomatically assorting nails and loading them into compressed heels.Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section of Fig. 1 to show the awl carrier,some of the awls, the templet, the heel-seat die to contact with theinner end of the heel, the driver, the driver guide, and the carriersustaining some of the nail blocks; Fig. 3 in section on a larger scaleshows a nail controller forming part of a nail assorting mechanism ofwell known construction, together with a means for turning the nailsaxially to a predetermined relative position so that said nails mayenter properly'the pockets and tubes for guiding them to the nail block;Fig. 3 a cross sectional detail in the dotted line 3, Fig. 3, showingthe shape of the chambers m; Fig. 4 is a view looking at Fig. 3 from theleft, some of the parts shown in said figure being removed; Fig. 5 shows.the nail controller of Fig. 3 in a different position; Fig. 6 is a viewof the part below the dotted line 00, Fig. 4, the screw being insection; Fig. 7 is a cross section of a nail conductor or tube; Fig. 8is a detail on an enlarged scale showing in top view the carrier for thenail blocks, one block being wholly omitted and other nail blocks beingillustrated differently to aid in disclosing their construction; Fig. 9is a section of the parts shown in Fig. 8 on the line 09 to betterillustrate the nail block, the gate and heel blank registering plate;Fig. 10 is a cross section of the gate actuator; Fig. 11 shows in sideelevation one of the nail blocks and the face plate connected therewith;Fig. 12 is a section through the nail block and attached parts, in theline 00 F ig.-8; Fig. 13 shows a top view of the templet and awlstherein in section; Fig. 14 is a section in the line Fig. 13, showingthe awls as driven into the heel; Fig. 15 shows the nails loaded intothe pricked heel; Fig.

16 is an underside view of the templet; Fig. 16 shows a modified form oftemplet, and Fig. 16 a section thereof in the lines; Fig. 17 a sectionof the templet in the line 02 Fig. 18 shows the nails fully driven intothe heel as they will be when attaching the heel to a sole; Fig. 19shows the heelaft-er the rib has been ground away; Fig. 20 shows the awlin two views and section; Fig. 21 shows a heel wherein'the heads of thenails are driven below the level of the face of'the heel as now commonlypracticed; Fig. 22 shows an English slug nail in side view and crosssection.

The framework A of suitable shape contains a power shaft A havin apinion A engaging a toothed gear A asto-n and rotating the main shaft A,said shaft actuating the awl carrier 39 provided with a plate t tosustain the awls to be described.

The templet carrier Gr having secured to it by a suitable screw thenovel templet to be described, the heel-seat dies E to sustain the endsof the heels 29 which are to contact with the sole of the boot; the heelholder 212 carried by the spring sustained spindle 213, the blocks C theeccentric 225, see Fig. 2, the link 229 and toggles c 0 d, d, to raiseand lower said block to compress the heel; the levers b pivoted at b andcarrying edge compressing dies; the cam B and lever 1' pivoted at r andconnected with the ends of the levers b to operate them; the yieldinglysupported lever G which lies above and normally acts to hold down in ayielding manner the templet carrier G*; the spindle A having its bearingin a part A of the frame, the carrier f mounted thereon; the means forrotating said spindle intermittingly at the proper times, comprising thebelt 204, shaft 202, gears 201, 200, the latter, driven constantly,being clutched at proper timeswith and to rotate I the shaft A the gearD splined loosely on and rotated by the shaft A so that the gear mayrise and fall on said shaft, the smaller gear D actuated thereby andsustained by through a driver guide 10 the locking plate A fast on thespindle A and having a series of notches 21 one for each nail block, thelever E having the attached dog 20 to engage at proper times theclutching devices intermediate said gear 200 and spindle A and thebracket 9 provided at its upper end with a foot having suitable holes toreceive the lower ends of the nail conductors or tubes, are and may be,with the exceptions of the templet and the driver guide, allsubstantially as represented in United States Patent No. 543,804,granted to myself and C. W. Glidden, said patent being an improvementupon an earlier Patent No. 502,667, dated August 1, 1893, and theseparts being old and fully described as to their operation, need not beherein more specifically referred to.

The upper end of the framework A supports a frame A that sustains ahorizontally reciprocating nail assorting apparatus comprising a hopperI) having leading from it suitable raceways 0, 0*, at the lower end ofwhich is a lifter f having grooves that receive the endmost nails in theseries of raceway grooves. The lifter is elevated at desired times by acam f to enable the nails thereon to slide into grooves of a deliveryportion h, the nails sliding therefrom by gravity. The nails havingtheir heads'leading, enter the chambers 117/, see Figs. 3 and 3 of anail controller m, but the nails with their points leading meet thewalls n of said chambers, as shown by dotted lines Fig. 3, and arearrested thereby but do not leave the delivery portion it.

When the controller is turned in the direction of the arrows Figs. 3 and5, the arrested point first nails move with it and are carried over intothe lower raceway grooves 6*, and the headfirst nails which enteredchambers of the controller are discharged therefrom into the grooves bpoint first, as shown in Fig. 5.

The shaft of the controller m is provided with a pinion m that isactuated by a lever m deriving its movement from a suitable cam on ashaft sustained in the frame A and actuated at intervals when it isdesired to discharge a series of nails.

The raceway is reciprocated by suitable eccentrics on the rotating shaft6 The parts so far referred to by letter as associated with the nailassorting apparatus, are substantially the same as represented in UnitedStates Patent No. 577,213,

granted to me Feb. 16, 1897. Instead, however, of the particular nailassorting mechanism referred to, which is adapted to turn a series ofnails leaving the grooves of the raceway or the delivery portion h,heads and points indiscriminately, so that all the nails may bedelivered point first, I may employ any other known or suitable nail assorting means.

The nails entering the nail controller in the Patent No. 577,213, weresubstantially square in cross section, and were discharged immediatelyfrom the controller into pockets, and thence directly into suitabletubes or conductors. It will not answer to discharge the English slugnail immediately into pockets or conductors without first axiallyasserting them, 2'. e. arranging them as to their sides to place theirlike sides all in the same relative position, so that they may enter thepockets and tubes under the same conditions in order that the nails maybe loaded or driven into the heel blanks with their sides facing. Toeffect this second assorting which I designate as axial assorting, Ihave in the present construction provided a secondary raceway a having aseries of V-shaped grooves 6*, and in the bottoms of the grooves at thedelivery end the raceway is cut vertically in line with each groove toform a series of pockets 0* of a length nearly equal to the length ofthe nail used.

The nails leave the chambers m with their fiat sides in substantially ahorizontal plane, and as they enter the V-shaped grooves 6* they insettling in said grooves will be turned more or less transversely oftheir axes, and will travel along said grooves in the direction of thearrow, Fig. 3, and one of the sides of each nail will be sustained byone wall of the groove, and the edge of the nail will be sustained bythe other wall of the groove, leaving the opposite edge of the nail notsustained by a wall partially upturned. In this upturned condition thepoint of each nail as it slides in the raceway will travel above thepocket 0*, the side of the nail at such time being yet sustained by onewall of the groove, but when the nail has traveled far enough over thepocket cso that the point of the nail overbalances the head thereof yetsustained by its side and edge in the groove 5*, then the nail tips onthe side wall of the groove supporting it and slides therefrom pointfirst and edgewise into said pocket. The entrance of the nail pointfirst and edgewise into the mouth of the pocket further turns the nailso that its parallel sides are placed in a vertical plane,thuscompleting the turningof the nails so that they will enter the tubes 13.Other means could of course be provided for properly presenting thenails to the pockets 0*.

Each nail enters each pocket in the same way, the sides of each naillying next the Walls 61*, see Fig. 4, of each of said pockets. The sidesof the pockets at the lower end of the secondary raceway a are closed bya plate e held in place by screws 12. The underside of the downwardextension of the secondary raceway ahas a supporting plate h connectedtherewith by screws 9*. The plate has a series of lots i and a portionof the edges of each slot is cut away as at 76* to receive suitableshoulders Z at the top ends of the upper members 13 of the tubes orconductors employed to lead the nails to the foot 9 The upper members 13of the conducting tubes are flattened or shaped to present a throatnarrower in width than the width of the nail, whereby the nails enteringthe tubes or conductors, as shown in Fig. 7, are prevented from turningtherein, are all guided accurately, and arrive at the foot g with theirsides facing in the line of driving.

The central portion of each tube or conductor is flexible to permit thelower ends of the tubes to be positioned in the nail foot in accordancewith the desired arrangement of the nail holes in said foot, and theconductors are also capable of being twisted so as to deliver the nailswith the wide sides of the adjacent nails contiguous or extendingtransversely of the line in which the series of nails is being driven.

The templet G is provided with a groove 1 1,see Figs. 1 1, 16 and 17,cxtending in the line in which the series of nails are to be driven.The templet is provided with awl holes, the lower ends of which enterthe groove 14. This templet, with the exception of the groove referredto, is the same as the templet employed in Patent No. 502,667, abovementioned.

To insure the formation in the heel of properly shaped holes to receive,guide, and direct nails of the character herein shown, namely thosehaving wide sides and narrow edges, so that said nails when loaded intoa heel shall have their sides arranged contiguous to each otherthroughout the series of nails, I have provided-an awl t, see Fig. 20,where the awl is shown enlarged in side and edge elevation and also insection. As will be seen, the awl corresponds in cross sectionsubstantially to the cross sectional shape of the nail to be driven.

The awls are beveled at their outer ends as represented in Fig. 20leaving a cutting edge in line with the inner edge of the awl ratherthan with the outer edge thereof. An awl such as herein illustrated'whenthrust into the stock can not run outwardly toward the edge of the heelor in a direction outside or away from the line in which the awlspenetrate the heel, the direction in which there is less stock and inwhich the stock might possibly yield. Any tendency of the awl t0 slanttoward the center of the heel'is resisted by the entire body of the heelwithin the line of the awl holes, and consequently an awl such as hereinshown will make a straight hole in the stock. Awls having a centralpoint are sometimes deflected sufiiciently to cause the nail when driveninto the awl hole to pass out of the heel seat end of the heel so closeto the edge of the margin as to be exposed inthe finished shoe. Thisdifiiculty is entirely overcome by forming the awl as hereinabovedescribed.

Later on in the operation of the machine herein partially shown, andfully shown and described in said Patent No. 543,804, the nails areloaded or partially driven into the awl holes by drivers 0 fullydescribed in said Patent No. 543,804, and later, when the said nails arefully driven through the heels to attach them to the soles 18 of bootsand shoes, the heads of said nails enter the awl holes and lie a verylittle below the general level of the surface of the heel which is beingattached and when the heel is subsequently buifed or finished it isnecessary to grind off only the rib 17 and enough of the stock of thetop-lift to remove the grain therefrom, if it is desired that the grainshall be removed from the top-lift. This in volves grinding away muchless of the toplift than would be necessary if the nails were drivenwithout the rib having previously been formed, because the top-liftimmediately surrounding each of the nails would then have been depressedby the driving of the nail to form an indentation below the generallevel of the. surface of the toplift, and it would have been necessaryto grind away the top-lift sufiiciently to obliterate the indentations.

The carrier f mounted on the spindle A .has a series of recesses 19 atits top side, see

left of Fig. 8, to receive a series of circular nail blocks 20 providedwith face plates 21 connected therewith by screws 22. The face platesrest upon said carrier and are sustained thereby. Each face plate andnail block has a central hole 23 which receives a hollow hub 24 of acircular gate 25. The face plate has a series of elongated nail holes 26the side walls of which are beveled to aid in positioning the nails. Thenail block 20 has nail holes of like shape. The gate is shown as a platehaving a series of holes 27 for the passage therethrough of the nails tobe driven into the heel blank. The

hub 24 has coacting with it a suitable spring 28 which acts normally tomaintain the gate in such relation to the holes 26 in the face side bysuitable screws 30 a registering plate 31 the edge of which next the hubof the carrier f is shaped to fit said carrier and prevent the rotationof the nail blockin the carrier. The plate 31 has a groove 31 to receivethe rib 17 of the heel. The nail block and face plate 21 are connectedrigidly together by the screws 22 and may be handled as one piece.

The registering plate 31 has a series of nail holes in line with theholes in the nail block, and the gate is located in the space betweenthe'underside of the nail block and the upper side of the registeringplate 31. To enable the nails to be discharged from the nail block andbe driven into the heel the gate must be rotated- To do this the driverplate has a stem 33, see Figs. 2, 9

and 10, provided at opposite points with,

ribs 34, beveled oppositely at their lower ends. As the drivers descendto meet the nails in the nail block, the stem enters the hollow hub 24of the gate and the ribs 34 engage grooves t at the interior .of saidhub, and turn said gate, putting its holes 27 in line with the holes inthe nail block and in the registering plate 31 .v

To the underside of the registering plates 31 I have applied suitablegages 35, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 8 and by full lines in Figs. 2,9and 12, to contact with the edges of the heel along its sides and withthe breast of the heel. The gages referred to are held fixedly inoperative position by means of screws 36 which are extended throughwings of the gages and enter threaded holes in the underside of thecarrler f.

A circular nail block having an independent face plate secured theretoby screws may be made much more cheaply than when a block is turned orworked out externally to provide a flange, and in my invention the nailblock may be of cast iron and the face plate of steel which not onlyadds very materially to the durability of the apparatus, but alsoenables the combined weight of the box and its plate to be much reduced.I also find itadvantageous to hold the nail block firmly in the carrierrather than to slide the nail block as heretofore, andby theinterposition of the gate between the under side of the nail block andthe registering plate, and by moving the gate at the proper times, it ispossible to release the nails just before their heads are struck by thedrivers.

The rib on the surface of the heel through which the nails are to bedriven may be on the heel in a heel compressing machine, and I considerwithin my invention any means adapted to engage the top face of the heelin compressing the same and leave the stock that is to receive thefastening proj ecting from said face, whether or not such machine isalso employed for loading the heel with nails or for attaching the heelto shoes.

My novel form of awls may be employed in machines which drive the nailsinto the heel for attaching said heel to the shoe, as well as inmachines which merely load the heel with nails preparatory to said heelbeing subsequently attached by another operation.

Operation: Assuming that the toggle d, d, is broken and the block C andheel holder 212 carrying the heel seat dies E are in their loweredposition, a heel blank is laid onsthe heel seat die at the left Fig. 2.In this condition the holder will be moved for a half rotation to bringthe heel just supplied to the holder under the templet and compressingdie, such movement bringing the second heel seat die in position to theleft, Fig. 2, to receive a second heel. It will be remembered that thecarrier f containing as shown four nail blocks is moved a quarter turnfor each half turn of the heel holder. Let it also be assumed that aheel blank has been placed by hand on one of the heel seat dies of theheel holder, and that the heel holder has been turned for 180 to placeit in position to be raised into the heel compressing means and to forceit against the templet, and that a second heel blank has then beenapplied to the second heel seat die of the heel holder. In thiscondition of the parts the block C and heel holder will be raised,forcing the outer end of the heel against the templet G, and into heelcompressing means such as shown in said Patent No. 548,804, thuscompressing the heel, and at the same time the stock at the end of theheel in contact with the templet will enter the groove 14 or spaces ofthe templet, Fig. 16, in line with the awl h0les,.

leaving projecting from the heel-end, portions of the stock of the heelwhich have been subjected to less pressure than the remaining portionsthereof. During the compression of the heel the awls are made todescend, pass through the awl holes in the .templet, and enter theprojecting portions of the stock of the heel, said awls being driveninto said projecting portions, leaving holes such as described for thereception of nails. The heel holder or heel seat die is then caused todescend to relieve the pressure on the heel, and the awls at the sametime are withdrawn from the stock through holes in the templet, and Whenthe heel holder has descended to its normal level the latter is revolvedto place the uncompressed heel on the other heel seat die in position tobe compressed and pricked while the com pressed and pricked heel isbrought into proper coi perative relation to one of the nail blocks ofthe carrier f, and another heel blank is placed in the heel holder. Inthis position of the parts the heel seat die is again raised until thepricked end of the heel meets the under side of a nail block, previouslysupplied with nails the ends of which are sustained by the gate 25. Thedrivers are then caused to descend, and the gate is turned, enabling thenails to drop by gravity and enter more or less the pricked holes in theheel, the driver thereafter meeting the heads of the nails and drivingthem partially into the awl holes of the heel, leavingthe heads of thenails projecting for a definite amount in usual manner. when the nailshave been driven to the proper eX- tent, the toggle joint is broken andthe heel holder carrying the heel seat dies begins to descend, the downstroke of the drivers being continued substantially in unison with thedescent of the heel holder until the heads of the nails have been fullyremoved from the nail blocks, and thereafter the drivers ascend intotheir normal position, and the heel holder and heel seat dies continueto descend until they arrive in their normal position. This operation isrepeated, and one nail block after the other in the carrier f is broughtinto position to present nails to be acted upon by the drivers anddriven into the compressed and pricked heels. The nail blocks are filledwith nails one after the other through the foot 9 to which the nails aresupplied by the nail assorting means, the delivery of the nails from thefoot to the nail blocks being ac complished in usual manner.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In a machine of the class described, thecombination with tread surface engaging means comprising a portionconstructed and arranged to mold upon a blank a central depressed areaand a surrounding portion constructed and arranged to mold upon saidblank an elevated surrounding area to receive fastenings, of meanscoiperating with said tread surface engaging means for applying moldingpressure to said blank.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with means forengaging the tread face of a heel blank in compressing the same, saidmeans comprising a portion formed to leave the stock that is to receivethe fastenings projecting from the face of the blank, of means forengaging the opposite face of said blank, and mechanism for effectingrelative approaching movement of said blank engaging means.

3. In a machine of the class described, a

die for engaging the tread surface of a blank, the said die comprising adepressed U-shaped portion to mold upon said tread surface a nail orslug receiving portionelevated above the remainder of the surface.

4. In a machine of the class described, a tread surface compressing diehaving the central portion of its face elevated for forming a centraldepressed area upon the tread surface of the blank, and having asurrounding U-shaped depressed portion for leaving a surroundingU-shaped elevation upon the tread surface of the blank to receive theslug nails.

5. In a machine of the class described,

' a templet to engage the top face of a heel in compressing the same,said templet having in its face a groove adapted to form a ridge on thecompressed heel in the line in which the nails are to be driven.

6. In a machine of the class described, a

I die to engage the face of a heel blank in compressing the same, saiddie having its face recessed to leave the stock projecting above theface of the heel at points where nails are to be driven.

7. In a machine of the class described, a nail block, a gate to sustamnails to be driven, and a registering plate having driver holes andgrooved in line with said holes.

8. In a machine of the class described, a heel support, a series of awlsof oblong shape in transverse sections each provided with a cutting edgein line with one side of the awl, the awls being arranged with thecutting edges on the side toward the center of the heel to be pricked,and means to actuate the awls to prick the heel.

9. In a machine of the class described, a templet having a series of awlholes and grooved in the line of said holes, and means to compress aheel against said templet to form a rib thereon in line with the awlholes.

10. In a machine of the class described, a carrier, a series ofnail-blocks sustained thereby, and a registering plate connected withthe under side of each of said nailblocks and provided with guides toact on the sides of the blank.

11. In a machine of the class described, a carrier arranged forintermittent movement in a horizontal plane, a series of nail blockssecured in fixed position in said carrier, a nail sustaining gatearranged for rotative movement below each nail block, means for holdingsaid gate in position to sustain nails in a nail block and means forautomatically moving said gate while the carrier is restrained from saidmovement to permit pas- 13. In a machine of the class described, a

carrier having a series of recesses, a series of circular nail blockshaving each a face plate attached to its upper end and a registeringplate attached to its lower end, said plates being of greater diameterthan said nail block, said nail blocks entering the recesses of thecarrier, the projecting edges of said face and registering platesoverlapping the carrier and aiding in securing the nail blocks therein.I

14. In a machine of the class described, a carrier, a nail blocksustained thereby, a rotatable gate having a hub, and means to engagesaid hub and rotate said gate to enable nails in the nail block to passtherefrom through said gate.

15. In a machine of the class described, a carrier, a nail block havinga connected face plate and a registering plate, the edges of both saidplates being extended beyond the sides of the nail block and overlappingthe top and bottom of the carrier, and gages beveled at their innersides next the side edges of the heel and depending from saidregistering plate.

16. A carrier having at its upper side'a series of circular cavitiesopen at the edge of the carrier, a series of face plates sustained bythe carrier above the edge of said cavities, a series of nail blockslocated in said cavities, a portion of each nail block being exposed atthe edge of the carrier, and screws connecting said face plate with saidnail block.

17. In a machine of the class described, a carrier having a central hub,and recessed for the reception of a series of nail blocks, a series ofcircular nail blocks therein, each block having at its upper end aseparate face plate and at its lower end a separate registering plate,and means to connect'said plates to said nail block, said registering 7plate engaging the hub of the carrier and providing against rotation ofthe nail block in the carrier.

18. In a machine of the class described, a carrier having a central hub,and recessed for the reception of a series of nail blocks, a series ofcircular nail blocks therein, each block having at its upper end aseparate face plate and at its lower end a separate registering plate,means to connect said plates to said nail block, said registering plateengaging the hub of the carrier'and providing against rotation of thenail block in the carrier, a circularly movable gate inp the nail blockand provided with nail holes in alinement With the holes in the nailblock, a circular gate having a hollow hub, the hub entering the centralopening of the nail block and the gate being interposed between the nailblock and said registering plate, a

spring acting normally to close said gate and retain the nails in thenail holes of the nail block, said gate being revoluble in opposition toits spring to permit the nails to leave the block.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

' CHESTER C. SMALL.

Vitnesses JOHN C. EDWARns, EDITH M. STODDARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C."

